Past few weeks, from mid March to now, have been especially exciting for Education enthusiasts of two nations: India and the US. Both these nations have announced ambitious programs to reform their education sectors … programs that hold promise to transform not only education system but to make entire nation competitive and progressive.
Few months ago, Obama administration had announced an ambitious program called ‘Race to the Top’. The program is designed to encourage States to advance education reforms by promising discretionary and competitive grants. Phase 1 of this program was completed couple weeks back. Overall aim is:
1. Adopting standards and assessments that prepare students to succeed in college and the workplace and to compete in the global economy.
2. Building data systems that measure student growth and success, and inform teachers and principals about how they can improve instruction.
3. Recruiting, developing, rewarding, and retaining effective teachers and principals, especially where they are needed most.
4. Turning around lowest-achieving schools.
India unfolded its own education reforms … mainly in 2 areas: ‘Right To Education’ act and ‘Foreign Educational Institution Bill’. While RTE focuses on primary and secondary education, FEIB looks at making higher education effective and world-class. Both these programs are a big step in right direction. While there are skeptics, mainly doubting the implementation of these programs, I am very optimistic. Not because these programs are well thought out and have the right details embedded in them … which by the way they do … but mainly because of the enthusiasm shown by Minister of Human Resource Development Mr. Kapil Sibbal and Prime Minister Mr. Manmohan Singh. In India political will can move mountains … and this indeed is a mountain.
Given the demographics of two nations and looking at the ambitions of both these nations to retain / get their share in world’s economic and political power; I think, programs unveiled by India are more far reaching and will have bigger impact if executed perfectly. At the same time, these are the very same programs which will be difficult to implement than the one by the US. Time will tell how true the US and India remain to their intent. But one thing is for sure, educational reforms are not just necessary but critical to survival of both these great nations.
To complicate it further, both these nations are mainly banking on ‘knowledge work’ and ‘brain power’ for capturing their fair share in world hierarchy. And better education is absolutely critical to grooming knowledge workers, innovators and entrepreneurs. In that sense the US and India is competing head-on. But for a change, both can win this race… crux is to run faster and faster on this path … others are watching and chasing.
I will close with an African proverb:
Every morning in Africa a gazelle wakes up
and it knows it must run faster than the fastest lion
or it will be killed.
Every morning a lion wakes up in Africa
and it knows it must outrun the slowest gazelle
or it will starve to death.
It doesn’t matter whether you are a lion or a gazelle.
When the Sun comes up, you’d better be running.
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